President Bernie Sanders Would Build a Roaring Economy, Says One Report

Life under a President Bernie Sanders could be pretty great, economically speaking, according to one new analysis.

Don't let the "socialist" in "democratic socialist" fool you: The U.S. economy under a President Bernie Sanders could be pretty great, according to a new report.

An analysis of the Vermont senator's spending and tax proposals conducted by Gerald Friedman, an economist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst obtained by TheStreet indicates that many Americans would be much better off with Sanders in the White House. The analysis was first reported by CNNMoney.

Friedman, who says he drew most of his methodologies and numbers from the Congressional Budget Office, found that if the candidate were elected and able to push his plans through Congress -- spending programs, progressive tax increases and regulatory changes -- the median household income would soar by about $22,000 by 2026, and the gap between the rich and poor would narrow dramatically.

According to the analysis, Sanders' plan to pour $14.5 trillion into the economy over a 10-year span would mean nearly 26 million jobs would be created, and unemployment would fall to 3.8%. Poverty would drop to 6%, compared to the CBO's forecast of 13.9%, and the economy would grow by 5.3% annually, instead of 2.1%. A minimum wage increase and tax hikes on the wealthy and corporations would lead to a shift in income to the middle class.

And as for the deficit, what deficit? By Sanders' second term, we'd see a surplus.

"The Sanders spending program is a significant stimulus to an economy that continues to underperform, with national income and employment at levels well below capacity," Friedman writes, predicting it will "lead to a dramatic acceleration in economic growth and employment" and return economic conditions to the prosperity of the late-1990s or mid-1960s.